Honorable Mentions
by J.R. Marsden
Summary: One-shots for character submissions that didn't quite cut it for "The Troublepaws", based on random scenarios I see their character(s) participating in. Enjoy! (On hiatus).
1. Owlfeather -- Shadows in the Forest

**_For Shadow in the Forest, owner of Owlfeather._**

**Owlfeather:**

**A Night Spent ****Training**

The young warrior's claws glinted in the light of the pale silver moon, only half full this night, as she trudged through the pine forest to the burnt sections of home. It was a great many seasons ago when that section of forest burned down, long before her birth, long before even the birth of her leader, yet it provided some semblance of security to her, even if the trees were dead and the grasses had long since perished. Perhaps she merely appreciated the history of the burnt lands, where the founding leader first formed the clan, where her clan was weak and nomadic before finding a new home.

She stopped by one specific oak, a twisted mass of grey-black wood as if struck by lightning, with the branches all torn off, with the trunk all hollowed out. An owl hooted high above, beyond the forests and the heavens. She looked to the stars with eyes reminiscent of the sun. One bright glisten in the dark background caught her sight particularly.

She liked to imagine that bright star was her mentor smiling down on her, proud of her dedication to her clan, of her training.

A feather floated gently down, brushing softly across the top of her muzzle. Looking up at the oak, she could see the wide eyes of an owl staring down at her, big yellow things that seemed to stare straight through her soul.

He hooted once, then in a flurry of grey-brown feathers took flight, spinning in the dark sky until he was out of sight, deeper in the woods. She shivered as a cold wind buffeted her fur, a wind she imagined came from that very owl. She looked up at the tree, then using her claws pedicured for fighting, she climbed, that one feather which brushed her nose clenched tightly in her teeth.

Her feet met the center of the tree, only partially hollow, with room to train in the abandoned nest; it was an instinct for her to realize the owl would most likely not come back.

She took several deep breaths, clouds puffing out of her nostrils as warm air met cold. She threw her head back, releasing the feather while doing so. It started to spin about her, and with swift movements of her tail and unsheathed claws, she made sure that feather would not touch the tree nor ground. Made sure it wouldn't stay still.

That was what her mentor taught her. If she wanted to be a fighter feared throughout the clans, she had to be light.

She had to fly like an owl.

**AN:**** Really short, but for some inexplicable reason, I like it. The first on my list of "Honorable Mentions", character submissions that didn't make it into "The Troublepaws". I hope to update every time I post a new chapter to the main story, but time isn't something I always have. Today, I got lucky. xP Hope you enjoyed! **

**\- JR**


	2. Riversong and Gingertail -- Spottedmist

**For Spottedmist, owner of Gingertail and Riversong. **

**Gingertail and Riversong:**

**Thorns**

**Gingertail and Riversong:**

Jayflight's pale brown fur tugged against the brush which made up the medicine cat den, and cursing quietly under his breath he pulled himself through, fully realizing that he lost a few tufts of the soft coat in the process.

How he hated that den entrance.

Speaking with Honeyspots, however, always seemed to make up for it.

The plush medicine cat was organizing herbs, as she usually did when he came to visit, her paws making quick work of tossing various plants into the appropriate piles. There was the slightest jerk of her rounded head; her equivalent to an acknowledging ear twitch, which was something she failed to do since her birth due to a deformation, where her ears seemed to lay back in an odd connection to her rounded skull.

"Your den nearly tore my pelt off," the IceClan deputy commented in greeting, pressing against his kithood friend as he watched her work. She didn't even cast a single glance at him.

"Boo-hoo, pretty kitty," Honeyspots muttered under her breath, her dark eyes not leaving her paws as she expertly flung herbs every which way with every one of them landing in the correct corresponding pile. Jayflight was always impressed by his friend; even when she was a kit, she had an amazing memory. She would see a butterfly with patterns unique to it, then remember it for the rest of her life, just like how she memorized each pile of herbs.

Astonishing, really.

"What are you doing in here anyways, hon? You wouldn't come have your pelt ripped off just to complain to me about it." She also always had that sharp tongue that surprised anyone fooled by her sweet looks.

"Those _two_ are at it again."

"Wow, _that _certainly clarifies everything!" If sarcasm were a venom which dripped from Honeyspots's snow-white teeth, they'd be drowning in it.

"Well, _honey_, I thought that with your vast knowledge you'd be able to deduct what I meant." Jayflight huffed, purposefully nuzzling into her cheek just to annoy her. A low growl resounded from deep in her throat, a sound few besides Jayflight have heard before. She didn't pull away, however, and instead leaned heavily against her "fake mate", as everyone referred to him as.

"There are lots of pairs in this clan, Jayflight," she pointed out, lifting her weight off him to return to her organization. The deputy watched as she bit off a few dry stems from a flower before tossing them behind her. Eventually he clarified:

"The two pranksters, Gingertail and Riversong."

Honeyspots stopped her work then, one leaf still held gingerly in her claws. Slowly, she placed it back down in the unorganized heap, and for the first time during his visit she looked at him fully, a frown on her plush white face.

"What'd they do this time?"

Jayflight turned so that his other side was visible to her. Thorns and thistles were stuck to his flank and left hind leg. "They put these pricky things in my nest."

While Jayflight sometimes liked imagining Honeyspots taking a genuine care in his well-being, he knew that would never happen unless his wounds were proven fatal, and to prove his point she simply sat there, staring at his flank, not moving at all to assist her friend.

"None seem to be embedded into your skin."

"A few are!"

Honeyspots rolled her eyes. "I swear, hon, you're such a kit sometimes." Even as she said this though, she pulled out a few herbs Jayflight didn't recognize (where Honeyspots's memory was incredible , his left much to be desired, he'd learned). She jerked her head in such a way as to say "follow me".

Surprised and mildly annoyed he'd have to crawl through the small entrance again, he followed wordlessly back out into the main clearing. Honeyspots dropped her few herbs at her paws, glancing around. Jayflight paused beside her, frowning at his friend. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for your nest invaders," her dark eyes flashed as she looked at him. "They hurt you; they get to fix you."

What she said made sense, as were most of the things that left her sharp-tongued mouth, but Jayflight himself wasn't at all sure he was comfortable enough to let anyone besides Honeyspots poke through his fur.

Honeyspots, when the two trouble-making warriors failed to come into sight, called to two of the kits playing in the clearing. "Vixenkit! Foxkit!"

The two ginger, fox-named kits stopped their play fighting, looking up at the two important cats before scurrying over, wide-eyed. Honeyspots looked down on them, gently though with authority. "Have you seen Gingertail and Riversong around?"

"I think I saw them hiding thorns in Sharpclaw's nest." Vixenkit's eyes lit up with excitement. "That's what _I'm _going to do when I'm older!"

Before either of the two warriors could even begin thinking of reprimanding the troublemakers-in-the-making, they bounded off back to the nursery, laughing as they continued their play. Jayflight was gaping, his look one of pure terror, one that had Honeyspots chuckling.

"Honey, please don't do this to me…"

"Why not?"

"If they have the guts to put thorns in _Sharpclaw's _nest...well, there's no telling what they might do!"

"Your deputy now, honey. You figure it out. Assert your authority."

And with those sarcastic, yet true words, Honeyspots disappeared back into her den, leaving Jayflight stone-still with horror.

Sometimes, he hated that she-cat.

And he hated the Prankster Team even more when he found even more thorns in his nest that night.

**I know Gingertail and Riversong don't actually appear in this, but I just sorta followed my own flow. If you don't like it, Spottedmist, I'll happily re-do it for you. :)**

**And that goes for everyone I write on here. If you don't like the one-shot, then tell me and I'll write you a new one. **

**Review Replies:**

**snowwolf12132: Thank you, doll! :) And yes, may she offer all her heart has to offer. **

**BuzzyBumbleBee: Thank you for pointing that out! While I did mention the creator, I'll be sure to make things more clear from here on. :)**

**Thanks to Spottedmist for the Prankster Team. :P**


	3. Brambleblossom -- ohmygawd

_**For ohmygawd, owner of Brambleblossom:**_

**Brambleblossom:**

**Of Vanity and Lying**

"Sagestar, I know this a..._random_ request, but do you mind...walking with me?"

I blinked at the gold-and-white she-cat in front of me. What an odd thing to ask. Toms certainly asked that a lot of the time, but never she-cats, and certainly never _anyone _like Brambleblossom. It was certainly intriguing, so I agreed.

The way her amber eyes lit up was, well, as odd as her request. It wasn't a happy or appreciative gleam. No, it was nervous, almost fearful and regretful. Why she felt such things I didn't know; I knew I wasn't the most pleasant of cats to be around, but I certainly wasn't the worst.

Well, according to some of our clanmates anyways. The _other_ clans seemed to think otherwise. Bah, what'd they know?

I let her lead the way, and the third oddity of the day happened when she made way above ground, out of the tunnels and into the stoney plainlands. Her tail twitched nervously, and I was willing to bet a moon of dawn patrols that neither of us were much comfortable above ground, nor very appreciative of the cold. Sure, things got chilly in the tunnels and caverns, but at least we didn't have the mouse-dunged breeze.

Silence seemed to rule the both of as we walked rather briskly through the territory, and we only stopped when we reached the very edge of our boundaries, one unbordered by another clan. Sighing, Brambleblossom sat down, and I sat beside her, waiting for something interesting to spring out of her mouth, but nothing did.

Did she have a frog on her tongue? I didn't know.

Eventually, though, when the sun had set and the moon had risen, she did end up speaking up. "Do you miss being a medicine cat?"

Not a question I was expecting from her.

"Of course," I readily answered. "I chose that path because I loved it. Why?"

"And if you didn't love your path?"

"Bambleblossom -"

"Well?"

An awkward conversation to say the least, and I had no real answer. "Well...I guess I wouldn't have picked that path. Became a normal warrior."

"Do you think your personality helped you in your duties?"

Personality? Duties?

Was the she-cat losing it?

"A part, yes. I never liked violence, and I've a great creativity when it comes to healing. Of course, I wasn't - still aren't - very... _approachable_, which is needed for others to trust you."

"And...trust is important in a warrior, isn't it?"

"I imagine it is."

Brambleblososm went silent, so I settled with looking at the territory beyond. On the horizon, I could see more grass and less stone than on our land. And trees. There were more trees.

"Am...am I a good warrior?

Blinking at her, I thought on the question. She wasn't the best in the clan, obviously. She was lazy when hunting, and her fighting was to be improved upon from what I gathered, yet she often claimed she were _great_.

Personal opinion? There was work to be done.

Dewleaf often tells me honesty is what made a great leader. But in this instance, would honesty chase one of my warriors away? Probably. So I lied. Lied a few times, actually.

Lie one:

"Yes, Brambleblossom. You're an asset to the clan, and as important as any cat to roam the tunnels. Why do you ask?"

"I just...don't feel _comfortable _I guess. I don't think the other warriors trust me much."

She was a vain she-cat. Of course she wasn't much trusted.

Lie two:

"DarkClan is family; of course your fellow warriors trust you. It's what keeps us all together. It's why we honor everyone on Membrance."

"Does my doubt mean I don't trust _them_?"

Lie three:

"No, it doesn't. To doubt doesn't mean you don't trust. You just...have questions."

Brambleblossom shook her head, like I was giving her a headache.

"I try to do good, Sagestar. I really do. So why is it so hard for me?"

"You're learning." I stood up, hoping that my legs would manage to make me at least eye-level with her. "Not everyone's naturally born good. It takes time to learn it, and we all have stages where good isn't exactly prevalent in our lives."

You might be able to consider that lie number four. Saying 'all' was a stretch. I mean, I was pretty positive Dewleaf always had a good heart. And Bluenose, that IceClan elder. They both never made a bad impression on anyone. Anyone still alive, at least.

"Do you think I'll go insane?"

To ask a question like that, you had to be headed there. So I lied to her again and told her no. I thought I did good lying to her; she seemed more confident in herself, more at ease, and I was proud of it. But as usual, Dewleaf was proven right yet again: honesty was what did good in the world.

Brambleblossom did wind up going insane. How or why, I don't know. No one knows. Every night after, though, I wondered if telling the truth might have helped her. Dewleaf tries to comfort me and tell me no, it was "Brambleblossom's own fault for not helping herself".

But I was at fault, too. I was the leader now, wasn't I? I had to be there for my warriors. I wasn't there for her, though.

Vanity was her nightmare. Lying is mine.

Still, I have faith that lying might do some good for the clan. Someday.

**AN:**** Very dialogue heavy, but still I hope it was enjoyable. Like stated earlier, ohmygawd, if you no likey, I will re-write-y. :P**

**Review Replies: **

**snowwolf12132: Saaame. xD I'd pay for them to get at my bro. xD**

**ohmygawd: Maybe not one-shots, but they'll definitely play a significant role. :) Hope you liked this one!**


	4. Khan -- Random Banana

_**For Random Banana, who submitted Khan. A warning: Khan is a kit-eater, and it's mentioned (NOT shown) in this story, so if you no likey that very much, then no read-y this one.**_

**Khan:**

**A Pleasant Conversation**

He hated the marshlands.

He hated MarshClan.

It was all so..._squishy_. And filthy and smelly and uncultured in every single way in every single aspect.

Why was he doing this again? He didn't know really, and settled for calling himself an idiot for going on this "leisurely stroll".

Crossing through MarshClan territory though had always been a bit easy. Sure, he was pretty positive the warriors would track him down, but he hoped to be back in his perfectly fine Twoleg home before they could even realize who _he_ was.

DarkClan - at least above ground - would be pretty easy as well, he imagined. Owlstar never much patrolled the upper lands, just the tunnels. Understandable, he supposed, but foolish.

Of course, Owlstar _had_ been old. Maybe they were under new leadership? It was certainly possible, and with new leadership often meant a new patrolling schedule.

That was hazardous.

This whole expedition was hazardous, actually.

He was at the Dark-Marsh border now though. Turning back would probably mean his capture by the uncultured crows of the marshes. Sighing, he walked on, stopping at Membrance, the tree those DarkClan cats seemed to worship _so_ much. It was a beautiful tree, no doubt, but how were a few scratches enough to remember the dead? He had no idea.

"Well, yours is a familiar pelt."

Taken by surprise, he spun around with claws unsheathed, ready to spring...until he noted how beautiful this intruder of his thoughts was. Tiny thing with long cream fur and the most striking green eyes he had ever seen…

What was her name again?

Oh. Right.

"Sagetongue," he greeted as cordially as he could. She was a fine she-cat, he always thought she was. He had a thing for her way back when, still might've had a thing for her even. Unfortunately for him, she was a clan cat, and all clan cats were fools.

Honor the code? Bah.

"Actually, it's Sagestar now." The beauty glared her pretty little eyes at him, and if looks could kill, he'd be down and dead.

Yep. Still not forgiven. Shame.

"What are you doing here, Shadowpelt? You know you'll die on this territory if anyone else catches you."

'Shadowpelt' bared his teeth at her. How he hated that name. "I go by Khan now actually, beautiful. Not that..._disgusting_ name."

"A disgusting name for a disgusting cat."

Silence seized the moment. Khan hated silence, so eventually he broke it. "You said if anyone else finds me, I'm dead. Why don't _you _kill me, leader?"

Sagestar's eyes twinkled in the light of the setting sun, and oh, how beautiful they were. "I don't have any deathberries on me." Her response was pretty blank, and caused Khan to _mrrow_ in amusement.

"A medicine cat to be leader? Such a sad idea." Shaking his head, Khan returned his gaze to Membrance, examining the scratches, some of which fresh. "So tell me, gorgeous, how did you come to be leader?"

"Chance," Sagestar came and sat beside him, and Khan forced himself not to smell that luscious fur of hers. "Owlstar and Redfern died leafbare from greencough, and StarClan chose me as leader."

"Really?" Khan drolled, not at all interested. Sagestar rolled her eyes with a huff of undignified annoyance before she fixed her gaze above on the branches.

"What are you doing here anyways? Thought you were smart enough to avoid this territory."

"I thought I was, too." The sleek black tom shrugged. At least it was Sagestar he came across. She was too good to kill a cat with her own claws. A deceiving little heap of fox-dung, but good. If it were someone else, there wouldn't be this conversation. "I wanted to re-visit the home territory."

"Then head back to the Twolegplace."

Khan purred in amusement, pressing his muzzle to her ear. "Feisty, aren't we?"

Suddenly, her paw flung out quick as a bird, and her claws caught his neck before he could even process what was happening. Stumbling back, he stared at Sagestar in shock, in a daze at the aggression.

Maybe she learned something after all?

"Look here, kit-eater," the DarkClan leader snarled, her voice so low Khan considered it seductively sultry. "I'm giving you grace because in a real fight I wouldn't beat you, but I swear to StarClan, swear to anything _you_ consider important, that if I see you on this territory again, you will suffer a slow…"

She took one step forward.

"Painful…"

A second step.

"Death."

One final step, and her paw - claws unsheathed - found the back of his neck, digging into the skin. "Every one of your innards will be pulled one at a time and fed to the vultures if you're seen here again, do you understand?"

She was so deliciously violent nowadays. Still, Khan nodded, and she released him. After nodding a brisk farewell, he headed back to his housefolk's home.

_It was a harsh winter, _he would've liked to tell her_, I needed to feed myself something, and that kit wasn't going to be missed any time soon._

**Review**** Replies:**

**snowwolf12132 - ...Here goes your happiness again. xD And Sagestar is the epitome of "lying is sometimes better than truth", only she doesn't know when it's truly necessary to lie. **


	5. Lilypaw and Silverpaw -- HDT and Guest

**_Lilypaw is property of hetaliadailytribune and Silverpaw is Guest's. _**

**Lilypaw and Silverpaw:**

**A Change of Destiny**

Lilypaw liked the pine forests in leaf-bare. Where other trees died with the cold moons, the pines always maintained their life, their vibrant green colors, and never withered away like forgotten dust. It was a beautiful contrast to the snow-covered ground; a beautiful sight to behold from higher, unobstructed views. The air was cold, freezing at some points, but crisp, refreshing to breathe in, and while some might have thought her weird for walking in the cold, she relished her moments alone in the forest.

Deeper in the forests, something drifted by from the Burnt Woods, a leaf as silver as the glistening stars. Lilypaw watched it curiously, having never seen such a thing, before the peculiar leaf burst into silvery flames, blasting her gold-and-white face with sudden heat.

And there, appearing out from behind the undergrowth, was Silverpaw, a bundle of herbs at her small white paws. She blinked nervously at the medicine cat apprentice.

"I hope this is okay, Lilypaw. I found some catmint protected by a fallen fern leaf deeper in the forest."

Dazed, the medicine cat apprentice nodded to the to-be warrior, not liking at all the vision that had appeared to her.

...

"Lilypaw, I need to talk to you."

The firm tone in Honeyspot's voice was worrying. The apprentice looked up, ears perking, barely making out the jerk of the head that indicated for her to come over. She glanced down at the half organized pile of herbs, then deciding her mentors needs were more important, slowly made her way over to the plush white medicine cat.

Honeyspots looked down on the apprentice with a frown on her round face. "You've been keeping something from me, haven't you?"

"No." A transparent lie Lilypaw knew Honeyspots wouldn't buy. Her mentor narrowed her dark eyes.

"_Enough_." Honeyspots snapped, nose scrunching in the beginnings of a snarl. "What aren't you telling me?"

Lilypaw gulped, her ears pressing back against her ears, mouth opening and closing as she tried to formulate the words that she so desperately wanted to tell her mentor. She hated lying, especially to the cat so many owed their lives to, especially her own.

"I…" Lilypaw ducked her head in shame. "I had a vision."

Honeyspot's fur lay flat once again, calmness once again enveloping the medicine cat. "What vision?"

"In the forest, when I was walking, a silver leaf burst into flames, and right as it happened, Silverpaw came out with a pile of herbs." Lilypaw shuffled her paws. "I - I think Silverpaw is meant to become a medicine cat instead of me."

Honeyspots was silent for a few moments, processing this information. Lilypaw was half expecting an immediate agreement from her mentor, but Honeyspots simply laid her tail comfortingly on her apprentice's shoulder.

"Visions are difficult things to interpret, Lilypaw," her mentor spoke soothingly, with a vast understanding that Lilypaw had always associated with the she-cat. "And even if you interpret it correctly, you yourself have to decide the best course of action. Think on it, and when you've come to a decision on what you vision means, and what you want to do about it, talk to me about it again."

With a comforting lick between the ears, Honeyspots sent her apprentice away to go and think, promising to finish organizing the herbs.

…

"StarClan, you have spoken to our medicine cats, and have determined that the destinies of two young cats must be averted to a different path. From this moment on, Silverpaw will take over as Honeyspot's apprentice, an Lilypaw, stripped from her responsibilities of healing, will be given Bluenose as a mentor in the honorable ways of the warrior."

Even as Creekstar spoke the words, even as she touched her nose to her new mentor's, Silverpaw felt awkward. Lilypaw had told her of the vision she had received, and she was in fact very happy to train as a medicine cat, but it was something she knew Lilypaw loved. As the ceremony came to a close, Silverpaw approached the older apprentice, her head dipped in respect.

"Thank you, Lilypaw," she murmured. Lilypaw looked up from the careful examination of her own paws, her eyes once dark with disappointment suddenly gleaming with resolve.

"No, Silverpaw," she responded firmly. "Thank StarClan."

**AN:**** Merged two different submissions together because honestly, this was the only thing I can think of. Hope you enjoyed!**


	6. Duskfang and Dawnpool -- argo14

**Duskfang and Dawnpool:**

**"We Have Brothers"**

_****Characters belong to argo14****_

Rare were the times the two brothers found themselves alone together, without anyone near them, without any risk of anyone being in the same general vicinity. They were just outside the marshes, in Twoleg territory, close enough to see the territory they called home, but too far away for themselves to be seen.

Dawnpool took a deep breath, looking to his brother. Duskfang's bright amber eyes were focused on the winding streets of the Twolegplace, and he sat there still as stone, as if he thought one movement would warn the tumbling fools of their existence.

Being alone with the black tom was unsettling for him, not because he didn't trust his brother, but because it had been so long ago since they've been like this, without their clanmates near them, with the opportunity granted to them to revitalize a bond that existed before duties were placed above family.

Suddenly, Duskfang spoke. "We have two other brothers."

It came as such a shock to Dawnpool, the thought of having more siblings, that the medicine cat was certain he had misheard his brother, and he asked for clarification. Duskfang didn't turn to meet his gaze, only repeating: "We have two other brothers."

"Do...you know their names?" Dawnpool's skin crawled in a mixture of anxiety and excitement; they were so close to connecting pieces of their family that had been broken for so long. To his dismay, Duskfang shook his broad black head.

"No. But I know they're alive. I've seen visions of them." Another peculiarity about the two of them; Dawnpool was the medicine cat, but Duskfang had the visions, or at least dreams interpreted as visions.

Dawnpool processed this for a moment, not even feeling the brisk wind as his buffeted his golden pelt. _Two brothers, still alive…_

"I want to find them," Duskfang continued, a spark lighting up in his eyes as he, for the first time that day, looked fully at his brother. "I want to re-build the family, make it whole again. And I'll need your help for that."

For a moment, Dawnpool beaned at the thought, a warm purr rumbling deep in his throat as he imagined meeting their long-lost brothers, having a family of siblings to replace the family denied to him due his role as a medicine cat. As quickly as the warmth came however, the excitement was gone when he put things into a realistic perspective, looking at the circumstances they were under.

"Splashpelt will be retiring soon," he pointed out. "If you go now, you could miss the opportunity to become deputy."

The light in Duskfang's eyes suddenly dimmed. It was a valid point, and as much as he wanted to see his family again, Duskfang longed to become leader, and to do that, he had to be deputy.

Of course, Dawnpool had an experienced apprentice who had recently received his full name. Dawnpool had a connection. If he had a description, the names of their parents, then…

Then he could go in his stead and search for their lost siblings.

Just as Duskfang opened his mouth to ask his brother, a startled cry from the Twolegplace, and on instinct the two brothers jumped down from the fence and ran off to help whoever was in need.

Asking would have to wait, and so would finding their family.

**AN: Short, laughably so, but 'tis to be continued in a later one-shot revolving around some other of argo's characters. Hope you enjoyed, even if it was only, like, 500 words. Also, in case you didn't know, I have a new roleplaying forum up, so if your interested in that or challenges, feel free to head on over. :) Link on my profile.**


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